The Concept of Concept Albums in Music--Where They Started and Why They May Not Be Seen Again in the Mainstream

If you asked most teenagers today what a concept album is in the pop music world--most of them probably wouldn't even know what you're talking about. Most pop albums done in the last twenty-five years have songs on them that don't really relate to one another no thanks to a heightened state of filler material in recent decades. Just about every debut pop album more recently has considerable filler with intent to capitalize on maybe three songs that'll become hit singles. In reality, a full album is just becoming a marketing base to create those singles and create an illusion that you're hearing something great when it's largely mediocre. But does it really matter if an artist goes out of their way to make an album that tells a story and every song truly matters in a bigger picture in that story? If true art in pop music still exists--then of course it still matters. I don't expect new pop artists to ever give it a try again, though, just for the sake of newer record producers wanting to churn out albums in a short amount of time while also being within budget and still be marketable. Concept albums just wouldn't be appreciated by most of the 18-34 demographic now either (well, excluding people like me who appreciate what came before).

For those rare ones in the outside music circles who still attempt to make concept albums (mostly in the Modern Rock categories today influenced by Pink Floyd's old album concepts)--even they probably have no idea where the concept album started. It likely wouldn't shock you to know that it started in the jazz world that was considered pop music in the 1930's. Those with more limited knowledge of music history would maybe utter "That's easy...it was Frank Sinatra" as the inventor of the concept album. Well, they'd almost be right--but be off by about 15 years and find out it started with a female jazz singer...